Rooting an Android device used to be a nightmarish labyrinth of .zip files and command prompts, confusing seasoned modding veterans and newbies alike. Thankfully, the process has gotten simpler over the years, with various "one-click" rooting tool kits surfacing and working for nearly every major Android flagship on the market.
The newest one-click method is called Towelroot, by infamous iOS jailbreaker George Hotz. Interested in the nitty-gritty details of how this exploit works? Check out what Dallas found out for us. But if you want to get right into rooting, grab your GS3, check out the video, and scroll down to Step 1!
Step 1: Download & Run TowelRoot
Firstly, enable the "Unknown sources" setting if you haven't already, which allows us to install apps from outside of Google Play.
Then you can grab the .apk (short for application package file, the equivalent of a .exe installer for Windows), from the Towelroot website. Simply tap on the lambda symbol to get the download going on your phone's web browser (Google Chrome is pictured below, but any browser will work just fine).
You'll receive a notification that the download is complete, so go ahead and tap on it to start the installer. If you accidentally clear the notification, you can find the tr.apk file in your Downloads app.
Once the installer opens, tap the Install button to fire it up. You'll get a warning that the file contains code attempting to bypass Android's security protections (which the Towelroot exploit needs to do in order to root your phone). Check the box that says I understand and still want to install it, then tap the Install anyway button.
Once the installer is finished, you can tap Open to launch Towelroot.
Step 2: Run the Towelroot App
Here's the easy part—simply tap on the make it ra1n button and give the app about 15 seconds, while it roots your device.
After everything is executed, your phone will automatically reboot with root!
Step 3: Verify Root & Install SuperSU
Once your phone boots up, you can verify that you have root with a simple utility called Root Checker, available on Google Play.
Simply hit the Verify root button, and it'll double check that your device has root.
Now you'll want to install a root management app. Chainfire's SuperSU is the preferred choice of most Android enthusiasts and modders, and it's available right from Google Play.
With SuperSU, you'll be able to easily manage root by denying or granting root access to any apps that ask for it. Make sure you don't grant access to any app you don't recognize, or don't think needs root access.
What did you think of this rooting method? Incredibly easy, right?
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79 Comments
can we unistall the towelroot.apk after the device rooted ?
Yes, you can. Root access should be unaffected.
cool thanks ! :)
IIit says download unsuccessful.... I ha Samsung galaxy S3
Can I install Lollipop after rooting my Note 3?
is there a way to un-root using this method?
You can just open the SuperSU app, and scroll through the Settings, and you'll see an option for Full unroot.
My SGS3 is not suported.
Is there another way of easily rotting then?
Which model number GS3 do you have?
I have the GT-I9305 version. international LTE
Got a virus message whilst attempting to download tr.apk ("Trojan type. Detected as Artemis!E287E785D0E3"). Couldn't download it. Should I be worried?
No, that's normal. This app is sort of like a "virus"—that's how it embeds root.
hi i was so excited to root with towelroot but when i got to the end it said my galaxy s3 4.4.2 was not supported .. can you help me please
You might need to root using software called Odin instead. Click here for our guide on that.
It's not quite one-click, but it can be done within 5-10 minutes. For the the SGH-I747M Galaxy S3, go to this link, scroll to the bottom, and download that .zip file. All the files you need will be in there. Once you get to Step 5 in the Odin guide, ignore the "To Flash Samsung GS3 Firmware" section and just skip to the "To Obtain Root". From there you can follow steps 1, 2, and 3 to get rooted. 4 and 5 are optional steps to install a custom recovery, which lets you install custom ROMs, but you can skip those steps if root is all you want.
my model is SGH -1747M
i tried this procedure with towelroot and it says not supported ,the super u says no SU binaries ...MY KERNEL IS JUNE 25
ok ty will check it out
but in your opinion should i install recovery just to be covered and not have to do this again ... ? how important is it ?
Depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to get into modding. A custom recovery is used to install custom ROMs, so if you're thinking about tinkering around with ROMs like CyanogenMod, then go for it. Otherwise, there's still plenty of things to do with a rooted phone without a custom recovery, like the Xposed Framework mods.
if anyones home give me a quick reply pls ..im excited to do this root. just need to know which firmware to download for the gs3 4.4.2 i747m , blue or yellow box ? thx
In the Odin guide, you can just ignore all the "Flashing firmware" steps and just stick to the "To Obtain Root" sections.
ok thanks again
Samsung galaxy s3 neo running jb 4.3 is not supported
i decided to use a different root checker called root checker advanced and it told me that i have root access but i need to install superuser but given my problem i cant find the app even if it says installed looking a shady grey on my screen but crashes everytime i open it . someone said to download the update su zip file to phone sd card . can someone give me a step by step or video pls
hey.. not sure what all the fuss is. just install towel root, run it, install supersu, allow it to remove Knox.. and done. no need for odin. no need for root checker. no need for extra steps.
did it take a while on yours to diable knox? mine says "disabling know but it has been for about 5 minutes alrteady, is that normal?
It seems like Android 4.3 isn't supported. :(
I installed every thing i needed to but what is "rooting" suppose to do?
Is it similar jail-breaking for iphones and ipods?
plese hlpe me/
my phone S3
this phone isn,t currently supported
I've followed everything on this page, I press make it ra1n, tells me below : This phone isn't currently supported. Please help me im like stuck with my S3
Towelroot relies on a kernel exploit, which was patched in kernel builds after June 3rd. You can check which your kernel's date in the About device section in your settings.
Hey
I have GS3 (GT-I9300) and my phone model is not supported.
Is my phone the problem? Is there some other way to root phone?
We seem to have exactly the same problem with the same phone. The Kernel is April 30, so we tried the Odin method, but the phone cannot read the (unzipped) files. What to do? The only thing we want is to install the App Ethernet, but therefore we must root. What to do?
Hi! GT-I9300 4.3. Model not supported. Any suggestions please?, should I go to Odin instead? Rgds!
I rooted with Windows kingo root software and everything went so well :-)
Hi guys :-)
I used kingo root instead and everything went so fine! :-) Just install to Windows kingo root and do like the program asks to do.
Now I have rooted S3 with S5 rom! Everything went just so smoothly :-)
Of course you need S5 rom and some other stuff also to have S5 on your S3 Samsung :-)
That was awesomely easy. I never rooted a phine before
I have samsung galaxy s3 gt-19300 android 4.3 jellybean and it is not supported can you tell me how to root my s3?
how to root my SGS3 4.3?
how*
Towelroot worked for me on an AT&T Galaxy S3 (SGH-I747) with Android 4.4.2. Kernel on the phone (stock Android) was dated May 19 2014, so before the June 3 2014 cut-off as indicated by Towelroot.
Does this work on sgh-999 4.3
No Joy on a Samsung GT-i9503 LTE... and no feedback from the author even after three months of this being brought to attention.
I have s3 neo and its upgraded to 4.4.4 and i am trying to root my mobile but i am not able to root it... actually i wanted to uninstall some apps.. plz hlp me out
Super Easy, Super Fast, just Freak'in AMAZING!
Super THANKS!!!!!!!
does it supports GT-I9300 GS3??
It wouldn't hurt to try out the .apk file. If you get an incompatibility error, or the root exploit fails, it won't harm your device. You can instead root using Odin and CF Auto Root
I used it on my galaxy s3 and it performed perfectly so far. We will see after I actually start changing things. Day one - root access. Day two - ?
Will it work on a Samsung sgh-1727r I don't want to destroy my phone.
Worked like a charm!
Hello.
Help me please. I don't have computer at the moment so this is the only way that I could root my s3 I9300 again ( it hade to go for service so I had to unroot) but now I can not root it again. If I use this metod it is telling me that my phone is not supported.
I used this on my Sprint Samsung GS3 model SPH-L710 4.4.2 and it worked, it was to easy. THANKS
So, basically I have the same issue as most people here having a hard time getting this to work. TowelRoot says my phone isn't supported
Samsung G SIII LTE (GT-i9305) Android 4.3
Can't really find the Kernel info, but the only date I find under "about unit" is Thu Nov 28, 13:11:27 KST 2013 so I'm guessing that's it and that's why it don't work.
Read about Odin and CF Auto Root etc but seems to much hassle for a non-tech like me. This "one-click-root" was just up my alley really so I just want to know if there is anything else I can do to make TowelRoot work on my phone?
I tried to root my cell but when i tried to download towel root it doesnt download. I also checked the unknown source and its fine. But towel root doesnt download. What should i do? I have samsung galaxy s3 lte 4g korean and model number is SHV-E210S.
I tried to root with this file & got the "This device is not supported" message. I guess the new OTA firmware from AT&T messed my phone (i747)? The baseband version now is I747UCFUFNJ1
It's the best method to root device I've tried. Tks a lot.
how can i fix the problem where it says this phone is not supported when i press make it rain please help
I also have this issue after the latest at&t Ota update.
just wanted to post that I had a gs3 hangin around from sprint since I upgraded to an s5 and it worked perfectly, and it even removed the annoying popup issue from rooting this way, thanks for developing this app, now the question I have is, will this work on a gs5? or is this just made for the s3?
p.s. the link on this site does not work, you have to go to google and type in towelroot then click on the pic that he said to above to download
what do you do if it says:this phone isn't currently supported
I am trying to get the file from the towelroot site, but it will not download on my phone (Samsung galaxy s3 i747m running kit Kat 4.4.2). All it will do when I tap on the lambda sign is open page after page of nothing. Is there something I else I need to do besides enable "unknown sources"? Does my phone need to be unlocked to root?
I can, however, download tr.apk to my pc. If I put this file (tr.apk) on my phone from my pc will it work?
I would really like to get root access. Thank you.
NOTE: *Posted this also in the forum and Armel suggested I not use Chrome browser. I tried a different browser and was able to get the file downloading.*
Try downloading using the standard Internet browser on the phone, not Mozilla Firefox. I used Firefox on my phone and the same thing happened. Had Chrome and the standard Internet browser and thought I'd give those a try. Internet browser allowed me to download TR.apk
Rooted my Sprint SPH-L710 (Samsung Galaxy S3), running Android Kitkat 4.4.2. It wasn't easy at first and took a couple of unsuccessful tries. I finally resorted to disabling LOOKOUT, using Force stop. Then executed TR.apk again. Ran Root Checker and it was verified to be rooted!
Keep in mind, TR,apk MUST be downloaded from your phone, by going to the website as described in the above. Trying to download TR.apk to your PC, may result in your antivirus to quarantine/remove the app. Also use the standard Internet browser to download TR.apk. I first tried using Firefox on the phone and it kept opening up the apk.
Rebooted my phone several times, with Lookout ENABLED and ran Root Checker again and was still verified to be rooted.
FYI, chose this method, because I could NEVER connect my Galaxy 3 via USB, no matter what I tried. I did have the latest USB drivers. My Samsung Galaxy S5 has NO ISSUES of connected to the PC via USB.
I have the SPH-L710 and don't have Lookout, and I keep getting, "This phone isn't currently supported. Odd how some 710's can root using this method, but others can't.
Ed,
Thank you so much for your post. I scour and have scoured many pages hoping to see my phone, version and KitKat. Not only did I get that, you noted what you attempted and the results as well as summed it all up with a step by step to successfully complete the process. So many are so vague, I often scratch my head and ask why bother posting. The last few years getting into the tech side of things changed the way I explain process and procedure within my industry. I would hate to see someone walk away knowing no more than they did prior. Thank you again, I will now begin this process..
Jim
I dont have lookout. but still not supported for SPH-710. Do I need to force stop to make it work.
Greetings!
I have Galaxy S3 GT-19300 4.3. When I click "make it ea1n" I get this message "This phone isn't curently supported.". What should I do???
Thank you,
did u get an answer?
It says This phone isn't currently supported .. please help its s3 GT - 19300 4.3
Yea i got the same message as in "this phone isn't currently supported" i would really like to know what to do from there.
Hello. I am just wondering what rooting my phone with all do fror me.
When I went to the towelroot app and clicked make it rain it said "this phone isnt supported"...what does that mean?
What if it says "this device is not supported
all u guys that keep getting the "not supported" message may need to use the PC method to root. Here is a really good step by step method that seems to work for all phones. link-http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2235366
How to Root Samsung GALAXY S3 (I9300)
I've had trouble rooting my S3 too, and here is how I finally succeeded rooting my Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 with Android 4.4.4.
Navigate to your phones Settings and tap on More or something that gets you to About device.
Tap multiple times on the Build number and eventually you will be able to see a message that developer options are enabled.
Go back, and the Developer options should appear under the "System manager" or "system" on some devices.
Enable USB debugging!
Download Kingo Android Root and install on PC
http://www.kingoapp.com/android-root/download.htm
I've checked it, and it's clean.
Connect phone directly to PC (preferably not via HUB) with USB Cable. Some drivers for the phone might need to be installed. This is normally automatic, but it takes a while. (You will see Samsung Android Phone in devices when installing is finished)
Ensure that you have at least 50% battery level before starting Kingo ROOT.
If you don't want the game offered, unhook.
Allow Kingo ROOT on phone. You will see the Kingo ROOT screen on the phone
Root Checker verified that Root access was properly installed. (Kingo ROOT checks all requests first, and works as SuperSU)
You have to use a few minutes (10-15), but this works!
Good luck!
Fred Husby
BTW: If you use this way of ROOTING, You can REVERSE the rooting almost the same way you rooted!
Links with pictures and more:
http://www.techverse.net/enable-usb-debugging-android-4-3-phones-tablets/ (also 4.2 AND 4.4)
http://www.kingoapp.com/root-tutorials/how-to-root-galaxy-s3.htm
http://www.kingoapp.com/root-tutorials/how-to-remove-root-from-android.htm
i downloaded make it ra1n and click on it BUT it say's "This phone isn't supported". what should i do?
Worked flawlessly on my S3.
Does anyone know if it already works on samsung galaxy S3 I9300?
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